Page 7 of Magic or Madness

We slinkinto the darkness in groups, one taking the back entrance and the other breaching the front.

I’m heading toward the front entrance, ready to crack the code to get us inside the building.

Oliver and Max trail behind me, giving me space to work on the lockbox.

After a few minutes, the door buzzes, indicating that we’re in.

The job is simple: break into some guy’s apartment, trash the place, and find a stolen flash drive. The person who hired us ensured his schedule never changes, and he wouldn’t be home for hours.

We take the stairs two at a time until we reach the third floor and locate apartment two.

Lex and Journey catch up to us, covering the door and the stairs as Oliver jimmies the lock within seconds.

We storm into the place, knocking down plants and smashing lamps as we move through the apartment.

My job is locating the flash drive, but I can’t resist breaking things I come across, adding a little fun to an otherwise serious job.

The first place I check is under the mattress with no luck, moving through the bedroom and checking every nook and cranny. Just as I'm about to give up and search in a differentroom, I feel a tiny brick taped underneath a drawer, and I’ve hit the jackpot.

“Got it,” I say into my Bluetooth earpiece, knocking shit around in the bedroom on my way out.

The guys did well trashing the place, and it looks like a tornado ran through this poor asshole's apartment.

In and out is the mission; we did it in record time. We follow the steps to the lobby, filing out of the building into the chilly night. Max and Oliver high-five each other as we casually walk back to the van. We parked around the corner and down the road, keeping our vehicle off street cameras and avoiding being linked to the crime scene.

There’s a small cafe across the street, dimly lit but enough to see a group of girls walking out, laughing amongst themselves.

“Oz, look.” Max points, and my jaw drops.

Bambi.

One of the girls in the group ismine. Her purple hair is up in a messy bun and she’s wearing an oversized hoodie, but those curves are undeniable –that’s my Bambi.

If we weren’t on the job, I’d dash across the street and claim her, taste her again, make her tell me her fucking name.

But I can’t.

I have to remain calm and pray she doesn’t see me, but luckily, I’ve narrowed down a neighborhood. It’s a dash of hope that I need to keep going.

“Ozzy, take five? Grab a coffee?” Oliver suggests, but I shake my head, putting the crew in front of my selfish desires.

“We can’t hang around here,” I say, but he’s so stubborn, and I know he won’t let this go.

“Get her to come back with us. If she’s everything you said, she will,” he challenges, knowing my competitive side will jump on a chance to prove him wrong.

“Fine, five minutes.” I smile, taking off toward her group.

They’ve gotten farther ahead of us than I realize, so I have to jog to catch up, but once I get within earshot, I take a deep breath and call out to her.

“Bambi!”

She stops dead in her tracks as my voice echoes in the otherwise silent night, and her friends turn around first, giving me a strange look, but my eyes are locked on her.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” the blonde says, giving me a dirty look, and ushering the group forward.

“It’s fine, Mick,” my Bambi says, slowly turning around, her face illuminated under the street lights we’re standing under. “You found me.”

She assures her friends she’s okay before walking to where I’m standing, and I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s short, barely five feet, and she has to crane her neck up to meet my gaze, but her deep-brown eyes are exactly how I remember, sucking me in all over again.

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